California Finalizes Details on Banning Gas-Powered Car Sales
Rule expected Thursday could speed up electric-car transition
A vehicle at a Tesla Supercharger station in El Cerrito, California, U.S., on Wednesday, Sept. 29, 2021.
Photographer: David Paul Morris/BloombergCalifornia is poised to phase out sales of nearly all new, gas-burning cars by 2035 under rules regulators are expected to approve Thursday, a move that could dramatically accelerate the transition to electric vehicles nationwide if other states follow suit.
Governor Gavin Newsom first announced the 2035 goal in an executive order two years ago, but the new rules would set a firm timetable for reaching it, requiring automakers to steadily increase their sales of zero-emission cars in the nation’s largest auto market. And because 17 other states typically follow California’s auto-emissions standards, Thursday’s vote by the California Air Resources Board could reverberate far beyond the Golden State’s borders, forcing the auto industry to speed up its switch to electric cars.
It could also burnish Newsom’s climate-change credentials at a time when the Democratic governor is widely believed to be weighing a run for the White House.